The Federal Reserve has made headway in adding banks to its new FedNow system, with a tally of 400 participating financial institutions, but some of the biggest U.S. banks are still on the sidelines six months after the instant payments service launched.
Bank of America, Citigroup, PNC and Capital One Financial, all among the nation’s 10 largest banks, still haven’t signed on to FedNow, according to the Fed’s latest list of participants.
FedNow launched last July, promising to speed up transactions for consumers and companies. It’s only available through banks so the Federal Reserve and its FedNow staff have been on a campaign, including via webinars and public communications, to encourage more banks to hook up to the system. The more financial institutions join, the more attractive the network becomes because of increased reach.